The Sparrows
by Tanzani Coil - The Only
Summary: All from different backgrounds, seven young, magical individuals have agreed to be trained by the Irish Sanctuary. However, their never-ending battle, both inside and out, isn't necessarily all that it appears to be… So; a bunch of young, wild, unique, power-fused teenagers living in the same space and being trained to be elite operatives. What could possibly go wrong?
1. In the Beginning

Summary

All from different backgrounds, seven young, magical individuals have agreed to be trained to work for the Irish Sanctuary. Working as a unit, they discover the underlying truths of the different sides of war, all the while becoming a more powerful force against their enemies. However, their never-ending battle, both internally and externally, isn't necessarily all that it appears to be…

So; a bunch of young, wild, unique, power-fused teenagers living in the same space and being trained to be elite operatives. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Collaboratively written, the story's characters are written by their respective owners. Their characters belong to them. Characters from the series belong to Derek Landy.

Written by:

Deri / fletcher-renns-hair

Carol / tried-to-kill-springer

Carlo / sticky-pickle-jenkins

Amber / rainycatrescuesquad

Ceri / ceridwen-rivai

Eloise / thoughtswhilstdrinkingtea

Simon / chinasorrrows

Georgie / tanzanicoiltheelectromancer

Arthur / acidicai

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

In the Beginning

The Irish sanctuary was finally settling down after the panic over Argreddion, another Sorcerer who had discovered his true name. It was a little messy, but what would one expect?

He had been found. Loukas Nemain, a very powerful Sensitive with access to what many sorcerers could only dream about. He had been discovered torturing an unconvicted kidnapper. The criminal deserved it, but the Sanctuary thought he had to be arrested. Now they hired him, as an apprentice of course. Loukas was only 14, and yet they were astonished by his powers.

They called him to a room, saying that he had to meet 'other people'. He sighed; he just wanted to train his powers all by himself, and not to have gotten arrested. He took a seat in the corner, and made eye contact with no-one and remained sceptical.

Meanwhile, through the door strolled a lanky, blonde boy with a mischievous smile. He took a seat in the corner and leaned back, his legs crossed over each other. The grin didn't leave his face.

This was Halcyon. An illusionist versed in creating projections of himself. He had been brought here because he was the best, of course, he didn't doubt it for a second. As he looked around his grin spread across his face. He could tell already that everyone here would love him. Right?

A tall, blue eyed boy with pale skin walked in, quickly looking around and surveying the others in the room. A dark haired boy sat in the corner scowling at the ground, and another boy with similar features was looking at him with an unsettling look on his face. Ragnar smiled at the mad one and sat down relatively nearby.

Ragnar Solent plopped down and clicked his fingers, summoning a small flame. He was an elemental, fairly common type of magic but a fun one nonetheless. As the flame flickered in his hand he looked around the dark room, wandering why he had been summoned here in the first place. He'd spent his life so far living peacefully with his magic family, training as an elemental and developing his skills, and suddenly he'd been contacted by the Irish sanctuary to come out for some sort of "secret mission". He'd decided to go out of interest, and his family had seen him off at the airport.

And now here he was, stuck in the one country on earth that was grimmer than England. Happy Days.

The doors were already open and waiting for her to walk through them. Inside she could see eight seats and a table, with nothing decorative on the walls or such. She sighed. Tanzani took a quiet breath and walked in, her hands firmly placed in her hoodie pocket. She looked around the room. Inside; a blonde, stupid looking teen who looked a little older than her, and another teen, a guy who looked about her age, probably older. Another guy had sat down and was playing with a flickering flame in his hand.

She took a seat, making sure it wasn't cramped next to the other seats. If she needed to get the hell out of there, then she needed space. Looking around the room, she raised an eyebrow. "Cozy." She said overly brightly, flicking her blonde hair out of her eyes.

Hester took a moment to breathe. New people, new situations, a new country… it was exhausting. She stood outside the door, taking out her phone, hoping to find a message from her mum, even though she knew she wouldn't. It had been five weeks, and not so much as a text to ask if she was safe.

Hester supposed she deserved that, after everything she'd said.

"Just go in already," She whispered to herself, "What's the worst that could happen?" Then she smiled, because that was exactly the sort of thing people said before something blew up.

Taking a shaky breath, she pushed open the door and slipped inside. There were a few other kids there already, three boys and a girl. Her eyes passed over them without really taking in their features, and she went to lean against the far wall, trying not to draw too much attention to herself.

In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have died her hair blue if she didn't want to be noticed - but, well, new start and all that.

Reagan's olive hands turned over the stone in her necklace, letting the smoothness of the gem on her finger tips sooth her nerves. She didn't really bother looking around the room when she walked in; she'd seen it plenty of times before - in dreams of meeting here. For some reason she hadn't seen the people she was supposed to be meeting, but since when had her powers been reliable?

Curly, dark hair hung down her back, flicking as she walked to take a seat. Once seated, she let her eyes roam over the other people in the room, three boys, and two girls, each reasonably spaced from each other. She guessed no one had bothered to introduce themselves yet, and she wasn't about to be the first. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate. The energy from the people in the room was too high for that to be possible though.

Dainan stepped into the room and pulled his headphones out if his ears while some of the other people stared. He stared back for a few awkward seconds, gave them each a quick smile and put his headphones back in and leaned against the wall looking down at his shoes. He glanced up every now and then, catching someone's gaze occasionally and then instantly looking away. He tried his best to make himself amused, and to liven the group of anxious teens and one insane looking boy up, he slipped on his gloves and began moving shadows around like marionettes.

He plucked the silhouettes of a girl with blue hair, and a rather tense looking boy off of them, and paired them in dance. The tense boy became lively as he dipped and twirled the blue haired girl, he finished their display with a fantastic manoeuvre he had once seen on television, and with a flick of his fingers their shadows were sent writhing back to their owners.

Dainan smiled to himself and apparently only at himself, as no one else had noticed. He ran his fingers through what he could of his short hair and stared at the floor.

The cleavers outside has automatically moved aside for him as he walked into the conference room. His smile was sly as he entered, standing at the foot of the table. "Thanks for attending, everyone. Forgive the short notice, but we didn't want to spend too long waiting. Time's short as it, with the conflicts and all." He explained, his eyes surveying the young sorcerers around him.

"Yeah," Tanzani said dryly, "No problem."

"As you're aware," He continued, "The sanctuary is in, while not in _need_ as such, but would appreciate new recruits. If the training goes well, then you'll be given allowance to stay as an amateur operative." He said, hoping the young mages around him were taking it all in.

"In case you haven't already been notified, we've organised your accommodation for the course. The training won't be held here, but a little further north." He clarified. "You'll be given more information on the structure and the area when you get there, but for now... The accommodation is one big apartment. You're all given separate rooms for the each of you, and 3 bathrooms to share. One kitchen, one living room. Should be plenty enough, given you'll be spending most of the time training."

Sharing an apartment? The mere proposition made the grin slip from Halcyon's face immediately. He gave a quick glance around the room to check out the others. Similar reactions from most.

"I'm going to like…get privacy…right?" He mumbled half to himself, half to the man who had just entered the room. He was ignored.

Tanzani's eyes widened and she perked up, leaning forward. "Wait, we're _sharing_ a place?" She asked, eyes bulging. The idea of sharing an apartment with a bunch of potentially dangerous individuals scaring her a little. "Please tell me we have locks on the doors..." She groaned, leaning back into her chair sullenly.

Loukas couldn't ever do this, no way. He had to stay away from everyone, he was scared. If he had to share an apartment with someone, then that would mean waking up to someone, a random person's screams. He moved here so he could get away, stop subconsciously hurting people, and start anew.

Tanzani turned to the rest of them. "You so much as step a foot inside my room without my permission I swear to God..." She said warningly, really hating trespassers. She had enough of that trouble had home.

With a grumble, Halcyon stretched, "No offence, but I'm _not_ sharing an apartment."He let out a sharp laugh. Glancing at each of them again expecting cries of dismay; when none came he huffed, deciding to stay quiet for the while.

Hester's mum would say that it was a good opportunity to make new friends, but the thought of being in an apartment, of sharing a kitchen and living room and bathrooms with a bunch of strangers was about as bad as it got. She was used to just living with her mum, who respected her privacy. There was no way she was going to agree to living with _six _other people. No.

Besides, seven amateurs living under one roof? The place would collapse in less than a week. She didn't say that though, because these were new people and she'd rather keep her opinions to herself.

When one of the boys said something about not sharing an apartment, she caught his eye and gave him a small smile, because she couldn't help but agree with him. Even if he was kind of obnoxious.

"I can't, no, no, no, no..." Loukas repeated to himself, he was rocking in his seat, then stopped and looked downwards and started chewing on his nails and patting his foot.

He had to measure out his karma so, keep it neutral so that he would not emit a white light for being too good, or red light for being too bad. Keeping it neutral would stop the sigil on his chest from hurting anyone in the near proximity. But the more important thing was, him hurting the innocents. No way could he do that.

Erskine raised an eyebrow at the young mages. "You're all old enough to start being independent. I highly doubt living in the same few metre radiuses as another human being won't kill you, will it?" He said, bemused.

Tanzani shut up, feeling a little stupid. "Okay, fine." She eventually said, trying to act a little bit more positive. "But..." She muttered, turning again to everyone. "We gotta set ground rules. Really."

'This is going to be brilliant', thought Ragnar, 'Providing I don't get stuck with crazy eyes.'

Erskine sighed, gathering up his reports into a neat stack. "You can discuss that on the way there. For now, unless you want to forfeit the training – which will make you highly powerful by the way – I suggest you try and get along." He said, raising his other eyebrow.

"Oh, a few more things." He continued just before he exited the room. "This training should be kept classified, so no going around shouting it to the world. First, no one cares, and second, we have spies all around the country, trying to gain information on our recruit status." He said dryly. "Also, the pack at the apartment contains, as well as other things like keys, seven debit cards you have one each of. Those are to be spent only for essentials. And lastly," He said as he exited the room for good. "Your lift down arrives in 5 minutes."

Tanzani watched the man leave, and raised an eyebrow. "Is this training just for us as individuals, or... Are we, like, a unit?" She asked thoughtfully to those in the room. "Would be cool."

Ragnar could hardly contain himself. He'd never shared a room with someone before, and they were getting not only their own building but debit cards too! He looked around at the people who surrounded him, surprised by how many people of his age. He went over to a boy playing with shadows and introduced himself.

"Hello!" he began happily "I'm Ragnar Solent! Who are you?"

Reagan let her eyes flutter from person to person in the room, each appearing to be in varied states of panic at the prospect of sharing an apartment. One boy was cheerily introducing himself to another, but Reagan didn't pay much attention - there was too much on her mind.

In all honesty, she didn't think sharing an apartment would be that bad of a thing. She hadn't stayed with anyone since leaving home and although she could barely admit it to herself, and wouldn't never even dream of telling these strangers, she was lonely.

Still, the idea of getting closer to these strangers was worrying and something Reagan hadn't anticipated. The closer relationships she formed with these people, the more their futures would appear in her visions. It almost felt like an invasion of privacy.

A peppy boy with blue eyes surprised him with a greeting, and Dainan couldn't help but smile back. He was a little intimidated by some of the sterner or disappointed people in the room, so a friendly face was nice to see. He held out his hand and pulled himself off of the wall.

"Hey there, uh, I'm Dainan Chicanery". He said with an Australian tinge to his voice. He pulled of his left glove and after mustering up enough courage he held out his hand and kept eye contact, "and can I just say how much I love your accent, makes me feel a little more at ease." He chuckled under his breath and hoped his hands weren't too cold. It was always something he thought of after shaking someone's hand; but he tried not to make it too obvious and kept his smile.

Ragnar grinned. "Thanks. Nice accent yourself 'mate'!" He said jokingly. As he shook Dainan's hand he felt his icy cold skin, quickly realizing he was speaking to a necromancer.

"Necromancer, eh? I thought people of your discipline stayed in temples for most of their lives?"

Dainan regretted taking his glove off, and held in his small amount of shame. That was the downside of drawing power from death, you take on a few traits of the dead; paleness, cold skin and a stereotype that he's a shut in. He brushed it off and chuckled.

"Not this one, I'm from a place where the sun actually does shine; and I hope I don't come across as somber." He tried to give a broad smile, hoping his shattered demeanor didn't show through.

Well, she was going to be living with them, so she might as well attempt to make some friends. Even though she wasn't very good at it. And she would probably just end up embarrassing herself. There were two boys, both fair haired, talking a few meters away; one of them was a necromancer. Hester didn't like Necromancers. They gave her the creeps.

She took a few hesitant steps forward and smiled, taking a deep breath.

"HimynameisHester," She said too quickly, and felt herself turn red, "I'm Hester. Elemental. This sucks, huh?" Oh, yeah, "What're your names?"

That could have gone a lot worse. Then again, it could have gone a lot better as well.

Ragnar smiled at Hester and stuck his hand out. "Ragnar Solent, at your service. " He said happily. "And you are?"

"Hester Adamant" She responded, shaking his hand. Suddenly there was a rush of air between their palms and Hester frowned. She tried taking her hand away from the shake but she couldn't. Ragnar grinned.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to tug her hand away.

"Nothing" Ragnar said mischievously. "Just creating a small vacuum of air between our hands."

Hester suddenly reached her free hand above Ragnar's head and a second later a puddle of water fell on Ragnar. He released the vacuum and slipped on the water, laughing as he fell to his back.

"Ah, another elemental!" He said as he got up "Nice to know I'm not the only one." Ragnar stood up straight and looked at them both, before shaking his head and spraying water all over Dainan and Hester.

Dainan looked at the girl and clearly relieved, at finding someone as awkward as he was. He gave a big grin and went to stick out his hand; but pulled back and slipped his glove on first.

"Don't worry, I'm sure once we get to know each other things will start livening up. But for the time being, I'm Dainan. Sorry about the glove, the ol' touch of death tends to surprise people.' He was clearly trying to sound as friendly as possible but finding it hard to keep a sincere smile.

"Yeah, necromancy. Right," Hester smiled, her hands moving awkwardly towards her pockets, before realizing that Dainan was expecting her to shake his hand. Even though she was fairly certain nobody her age had ever shaken her hand before, "Always found you guys super creepy," She said, the words just sort of coming out without any control whatsoever, "Sorry. It's nice to meet you Dainan."

Loukas had to leave, get out, run away, anything to not get to close to these strangers. He walked out, avoiding the peppy boy talking to someone that had just taken a glove off. He walked out into the hallway, going straight past the Cleavers and turning the corner, away from his future room-mates' view. Their view. He didn't know what to do. They seemed like nice people right?

Loukas started spinning his dark – nearly black – hair around his finger and began pacing back and forth, turning constantly, feeling the terrible lurch of panic and anxiety in his stomach. Tears began to form in his eyes, being the cause of pain on innocent people was not what he wanted. And now, because of Erskine, it was an inevitability.

When the boy with the dark hair left, Halcyon glanced around, gave him a mocking laugh.

Tanzani frowned and watched the sceptical looking guy walk out. The way his foot was tapping had sounded nervous. It was to be expected, she supposed. She herself was nervous about this entire thing. "Hey, dude!" She called after him, pondering his sudden walk out. She sighed, starting to walk after him.

When she balanced it, she was becoming more used to the idea of sharing an apartment. She had gone on school trips in the past, and those were quite fun. To be honest, it was the fact that they were strangers, who happened to be dangerous, that freaked her out. Providing they give her her space, and appreciate each other's respect, it'd actually be kind of cool.

But then again, from her experience of being around other people, that sort of stuff didn't happen. Not often.

She walked out after him, looked down one corridor then the other. She frowned when she saw him pacing. "Hey," She said slowly, approaching him. Her steps weren't fast and her tone wasn't hard. "Hey, you alright?" she asked. "I... I get that this whole apartment thing might be, y'know, odd but... We're gonna be fine." She said, assuming he was acting strangely for the fear of being in danger.

"No... I'm not okay I'm nervous and scared and a danger to everyone..."

Tanzani sighed impatiently, but tried to keep it more restrained. Being impatient won't get very far. "Okay, well, what's up?" She asked, trying to get him to open up.

"I... I can't say much, just that it's something to do with me, and involves... Screaming." Loukas looked down, trying not to feel guilty.

Tanzani frowned a little, but her expression softened. "Look, we're gonna be doing training for, like, another year or something now. Whatever your training is, it's cool enough that Erskine wants it to be perfected."

Loukas looked at her, with his wet eyes, and continued. "I don't want to hurt any of you... Well, not without a reason."

Tanzani raised an eyebrow. "I think that goes for the rest of us, to be fair." She said, and looked thoughtful for a bit. "Is it, like, something you can't control, or..?" She asked slowly.

"Yes, but I don't want to get into it..." He replied sadly

She sighed, looking around, a tad nervously. "C'mon..." She said, almost pleadingly, "We're gonna be sharing an apartment, along with five other people. I'd rather know what you're capable of than be, I dunno, at the very most killed by it and I never would know why." She reasoned. "Besides, maybe we could even help you with it. Bottling stuff up won't help you."

"Yes, but It won't help me if I let it out either. If I do it now, everyone will hate me, and turn on me, and If I try not to do it... The result is the same either way."

Tanzani frowned. "I don't tend to judge people on their power. I've heard of this dude who can read minds, right? Doesn't mean I'm gonna go hating on him because he can potentially read my mind." She, again, tried to reason. "Tell me, come on."

"I can't, but I'm guessing you'll find out later..."

She sighed, finally giving in. "Okay, fine." She said, and peered at him. "Oh, I'm Tanzani by the way. I didn't actually tell you."

Blinking the looming tears away, he replied. "I'm Loukas Nemain..."

Grinning, Tanzani shrugged. "Cool. Wanna go back? We still have, like, a couple of minutes to go."

He looked around, and saw nothing to do here, so he chose to follow along, but kept his sceptical attitude sharp. "Sure. But, I'm not really big on talking, so take that as you will."

"I'll count on it." She smirked, and walked back into the room.

No-one was talking to him, this was going awfully already.

He crossed his arms and huffed as he stood up. "Fine.", he grumbled to himself. Halcyon took a deep breath and breathed out, as he did an exact copy of him stepped out of him, a grin appeared on the 'reflections' face and he turned to Halcyon.

"Alright good lookin." Chuckled the projection.

At this Halcyon laughed and glanced at the copy with a chuckle, "Your hair looks amazing today, may I add." They continued this conversation with each other in the corner, perfectly happy to continue this way until someone 'real' came over.

Reagan's eyes were eventually drawn to a boy in the corner, currently talking to himself.

Literally, a double stood opposite and they were conversing as if everything was perfectly normal. Well to them, it probably was.

They were fascinating really. They had the exact same thin, tall build and blonde hair, not a single difference she could see. Not like anything she had seen before, not like siblings or even twins.

She had never heard of this kind of magic, and couldn't help herself from speaking out. "Do you finish each other's sentences too?" She called from her chair, not bothering to move. Two of the others had left the room, and she was sure none of the rest were paying attention.

The boys turned to her, and brightened immediately. In perfect synchronisation they said, "Oh, hello!" One turned to the other and scowled, "I do the introductions! You're not even real!" In a moment they were both arguing about who talks and who doesn't. One grabbed the others arm and literally pulled him inside him.

After a brief fix of his shirt he turned back to her and laughed, a smile playing at his lips, "Ignore him… me… Y'know…"

That was alarming. She didn't let that show on her face, instead she smirked, the corner of her mouth turned upright slightly. "So, is that the real you? The original ... what's your name?" Before he could answer she held up a finger to silence his response and focused her breathing. Flashes of a future flashed quickly in her mind. "Halcyon. Nice."

At this, the boy froze, the smile slipping slightly from his face. "Y-yeah..." he stuck out a hand for her to shake, glancing at her quickly before looking away before she guessed anything else, "...and you are?"

She glanced at the hand for a second, before actually reaching forward and shaking it. "Reagan. Reagan Havoc." Her smirk widened slightly at the cheeky look on his face falling, feeling she might have just 'one upped' him.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. And Hester had to admit that it was nice being around other sorcerers her age; she was sick of having to hide the truth from her friends. With all of them living together, they'd be free to do whatever they wanted.

Hopefully not whatever they wanted. There were boundaries, right? Hester had been on a camping trip with school a few months ago, and was certain that Steve and Beth had been doing more than just _cuddling _when they ended up sharing a tent.

Hester looked around when she felt a disturbance in the air currents, and saw that the door was open. There was a Cleaver stood outside- she couldn't help wondering when she was going to stop getting chills whenever she was near them.

"Looks like our lift's here," Hester said to Dainan and Ragnar, indicating the Cleaver by the doorway.


	2. Establishing the Nest

Chapter 2

Establishing the Nest

As far as vans went, it was fairly standard. As far as _journeys _went… life changing. Not one of the candidates looked at ease as their ride trundled through… well… where? Halcyon considered this as he tried to see out of the blacked out windows to no avail and after a moment he gave up and lay back across the back seats, dictating in his head that more seats equalled more importance. The van stopped and started regularly, they were clearly in a town or in a city. The more Halcyon tried to work out where they were the more his head hurt.

One by one he glanced at the other passengers trying to work out why each had been picked. Hadn't that man said all of them were powerful sorcerers? Half of them looked like they were about to cry and the other half looked like they already had. He gave himself a self-satisfied smirk and closed his eyes, his arms folded across his chest.

Reagan liked the van. The blacked out windows made it easier to focus on her breathing seeing as she could block out the world outside the van. She couldn't, however, block out the people currently seated around her. Each was buzzing, whether it was from excitement or nervousness, they were buzzing nonetheless

It was hard to focus, but eventually her mind sealed off and she caught a glimpse of the not too distant future. The image of their destination flittered through her mind and she felt like a weight was lifted from her chest. She saw the apartment as she walked through the rooms and she now felt better just knowing where she was going. It didn't matter that scene probably wouldn't take place - it was all based on circumstance. The thing about visions is that what happens in them change, people, events. Places always stayed the same.

In a way, she wanted to share this relief with the others, if they were feeling she was just before. Obviously, there wasn't a way to show them it was going to be okay - from what she could see. And even if there was, the atmosphere was awkward and extremely tense. Breaking that with an ominous statement probably wouldn't help at all.

Ragnar sat with Hester and Dainan, wishing he could see out the window. The tinted darkness gave the sinister feel that there was someone watching them from the outside, and Ragnar always liked to look out of the window on journeys. It helped get rid of the travel sickness.

His stomach bubbled furiously as he smiled at his new friends, valiantly struggling to keep a lunch down. Desperately trying to distract himself he looked around at the others in the van, most of whom were looking rather bored. Ragnar decided to try and practice his magic, so he clicked his fingers to summon a spark. He poured magic into it and it blossomed into a crackling sphere of flame, casting shadows around the inside of the van. At that moment the van swerved and Ragnar was thrown sideways, releasing the fireball. The fire licked his clothes and sprang over them, his hoodie erupting in fire. He screeched wildly as he writhed in his seat, which was now also burning fiercely.

Hester had been playing music so loudly, her eyes closed as she let the familiar tunes fill her mind, that it took her a few moments to notice that Ragnar was on fire. She pulled out her headphones and flinched at the grating sound of barely controlled shrieking.

Although, to be fair, Hester would probably have found it alarming if she wasn't a fairly talented elemental.

"Shut up everyone," Hester muttered, wishing she had the confidence to shout at them. Instead, she put her head phones back in to drown out the screaming and focussed on the water particles in the air, soaking Ragnar and putting out the flames. She glowered at him and mumbled something about him being a lunatic with a death wish and a compulsive need to show off.

Tanzani flinched when the dude started screaming, but did nothing to help him. Electricity didn't do an awful lot to help put out fires. She laughed as the girl opposite her put out the ferocious flames with a swish of her hand; she made it look so _simple. _She grinned. "Nice. It's comforting to know at least one of us knows what we're doing, huh?" She said, trying to make up conversation. "What's your name?"

Hester looked around for a few moments when the other girl spoke, not used to people actually starting a conversation with her, and pulled out her earphones, smiling back, "Hester Adamant. And you are..?"

Tanzani smiled, appreciating she wasn't acting ominous or depressed or something. She liked the idea of a friendlier group. "Tanzani. Just call me Tanz, though, it saves the precious time of saying two entire syllables." She laughed. "You training for physical as well as magically, or is developing your magic all you're gonna be doing here?"

As much as Hester knew she should be making friends, and that actually talking to people was the way to do that, she was perfectly happy just listening to music and keeping to herself for now. She forced herself not to sigh and shoved her iPod back in her pocket. "Both. I've always wanted to be able to fight with a sword, actually." Probably best not to go into childhood fantasies of becoming a pirate.

Tanzani nodded, agreeing with her. "Yeah man, I love swords. I wouldn't wanna use one myself because... Well, I'd probably end up decapitating one of us." She laughed. "But yeah, I'm doing physical too. Doing magic is great and all, but... I'd like to learn how to properly defend myself, y'know?" She explained, and leaned back, content with the ride.

"Maybe she should all introduce ourselves?" Hester suggested, hating how much she sounded like a school teacher.

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, liking the idea. It'd be best, she knew. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." She said, and subconsciously put her hair from behind her ear to in front of her face. "I'm Tanzani, but as I said just call me Tanz. I'm studying physical and magical. I'm an adept; electromancy."

Dainan watched Tanzani's lips move as she spoke. He tended to stare when listening to music: out the window, at his shoes, directly at someone. The latter usually caused embarrassment to come as it did now. He snapped into focus as realized no one was speaking and that Tanzani was staring straight at him. He fumbled with his headphones and gave a grin. "Right. Um, hi there. I'm Dainan Chicanery, I'm a necromancer and if you haven't already noticed I'm not from around here; I'm an Aussie." He gave a slight wave and smiled at Hester and Ragnar.

Dainan noticed a familiar tune coming through the headphones dangling from Hester's shirt. He leaned behind Ragnar and tapped her shoulder. "Hey is that Green Day? Wait, wait, wait let me guess – Jesus of Suburbia?"

"What? Oh right, yeah," Hester said, and whilst normally she would finish the conversation as quickly as possible, she was feeling herself start to relax, "Basically just listening to this whole album on repeat. Nothing like good music to get through the fun of leaving home and running away to Ireland only to find myself stuck with a bunch of strangers," She muttered under her breath, then felt herself blush, "Sorry, it doesn't matter," _You don't want to hear about my problems, _she thought, after all, he was just asking about her music. She turned her attention back to the others, and tried to concentrate on remembering all their names.

The boy lying on the back seats perked up, grinning to everyone on the bus an eyebrow quirked. "Alright, well, you probably already know me, but for those who don't, your life will get _significantly _better from this point. Trust me. Anyway…" Halcyon coughed, catching himself before he rambled. "I'm Halcyon Ruse, Illusionist. Basically I can make multiple copies of myself." An exact copy of the boy sat up straight and waved to everyone on the bus then leant back, into Halcyon. "Pretty cool, eh?"

Yeah, it was cool, even Reagan had to admit. But was she about to let Halcyon know that? Nope. Not at all. She caught his eye and smirked, shaking her head slightly, having a feeling that might irk him. Before anyone had a chance to respond to Halcyon's introduction, she spoke.

"I'm Reagan Havoc. I'm a sensitive, who specialises in mediumship - to put it simply, I can talk to the dead." She shrugged, and her dark hair fell over one shoulder. It was more than that, but didn't feel like explaining it to all those strangers right then, not when she began to feel the slight ache of homesickness thinking about her powers. Still, the crystal around her neck, and very thin set of tarot cards on the inside of her jacket pocket made her feel just a little bit closer to home and that was all she needed right then.

Loukas looked around, he saw everyone either talking to someone or sitting nervously. He decided to speak up anyway, just to introduce himself to those who did not know him yet. "For those who were probably not wondering, my name is Loukas Nemain, I am a sensitive who specialises in infiltration peoples minds and forcing them too feel things. Also, finding out information and building up walls around information you want to keep to yourself." Soon, Loukas realised he was mumbling and began to be quiet. He plugged in his headphones and tried too block some things out.

Tanzani grinned, liking these people. "You're all so cool. Like, you have unique magic and stuff you all sound so badass and then I'm just… here." She said, shrugging and pulling a face.

"Really though, I hope the place is nice. Big. I don't want to live in some tiny cramped thing with doors with no locks." She grumbled, remembering the glorious old school trips where people would burst in on people and laugh.

Suddenly Halcyon leant up and called to the driver, his hand cupping his mouth, "Oi, pull over soon? I'm starving!" He then lay back down, covering his eyes with his hands, "Wake me when you need me…"

After another half an hour or so the bus pulled over at a services station. Halcyon was the first out, already sending projections in every directions to grab him various things as he went to pee.

"You go and grab me some Jaffa Cakes." He called to one. To another, "Get me a decent book, something romantic. I'm in that mood," and finally, "I could do with a cool hat. Get me a cool hat. You know what I like, right?" By the time they had all returned to him he was already lounging on a bench, grinning at them all as they all brought him his stuff.

The journey continued. Hester didn't really mind long journeys. She liked sitting quietly and letting the world pass her by, usually listening to music. It was relaxing, gave her time to think. And she'd much rather keep to herself than talk to everyone else; she was too tired to care about whatever they were saying.

They drove for another hour or so, eventually slowing and coming to a stop. A Cleaver opened the van doors and motioned for them to step out.

They had pulled up outside a gate, with a sign 'PRIVATE PROPERTY: NO ENTRANCE' Although, Hester thought, there were probably also spells and symbols to keep mortals out.

Past the gate was a winding path through a forest, and Hester presumed that the house was probably somewhere in the middle of the trees, even though she couldn't see it.

The rest of the group filed out of the van, and stood around awkwardly. Then the Cleaver closed the door and climbed back into the front seat, driving off and leaving them there.

Tanzani raised an eyebrow, appreciating that the training and living will be someplace secluded. It'd be difficult to act a mortal when you're training to be an agent. She got out the van and looked around, grinning. "Man, I love forests." She said, almost to herself.

The van drove off and she shrugged, walking around the place. "They said that this is a classified organisation," She said out loud, climbing one of the heavy trees. Her legs weren't strong and neither were her arms, but the tree was easy to climb and it wouldn't be for long. She sat on a branch and gazed around, trying to spot their accommodation.

She frowned when she couldn't see anything. "Yeah... They said it'd be classified, so..." She mumbled, and looked down, where, as she hadn't realized before, there was a steep slope which went down a few metres. She shook her head and smirked. "And they weren't kidding." She said loudly, directing it to the group at the ground.

She climbed down and, brushing twigs off of her hoodie, she grinned. "The place is down there. See the little path? You can't see it unless you're looking for it, but..." She trailed off, walking down a hardly noticeable lighter patch of twigs. They reached tarmac and she smirked, feeling smug.

In front of them lied a large, contemporary bungalow. It looked big and it looked modern, and she felt a sense of excitement, knowing she'd be staying here for another year or two. She spun round to the others. "I dibs best room!" And with that, spun back and sprinted indoors.

Halcyon started at the building in open-mouthed awe, his eyes bright. "This… it… it's perfect," he laughed to himself, running his hands through his hair.

Suddenly one of the girls was running towards the house, "Wait, wait! I get first dibs! There's more of me!" Halcyon called, but she hadn't heard him.

He decided to do something at that moment. Something he hadn't needed to do for years. He ran. He ran into the house, squealing in delight when he saw the kitchen. He screeched when he saw the lounge room, stacked full of instruments and video games. He shrieked when he saw the TV, oh the TV.

But screams, screeches and squeals eluded him, when he walked into the bedroom slowly. He simply stared in awe at the blank, grey room. The blank, grey room was dull, it was kind of small and it smelt musty. But the blank, grey room was his. His own piece of the world that no-one could touch. It was home.

Reagan walked behind the two running ahead, quite content with whatever room she gone, as long as it was a room of her own. It was perfectly tranquil, outside at least. She couldn't be more excited at the prospect of living out this far in the woods, nearly in complete solitude. Her mind was buzzing at the thought of all the perfect places there'd be for meditation.

When she entered the house, she didn't really look around. She'd seen it all before, which was probably why she was calmer than the others. The lounge looked more than comfortable, and was filled with assorted games and a large TV. The kitchen just across from it was equipped well and had enough space for all the Sparrows to eat at once. Would group dinners be a thing? Or would everyone just ignore each other except for missions? A fully stocked bookcase was calling Reagan, but she thought it would be best to choose a bedroom first, the one she had seen herself picking.

She walked the corridor lined with bedrooms and watch Halcyon, who she'd met properly earlier race into one at the far end. The electromancer raced into another. Reagan paused in front of the door she'd seen herself go into before, and then opened it. It was exactly like she'd seen before, and the familiarity was a huge comfort. Quietly, she pulled the tarot cards from her pocket, gave them a quick shuffle before placing them on her bedside table. There. Home.

Loukas walked out of the van, watching some of the teenagers run into the house, he decided to take a brisk walk instead. As he entered, the screaming he heard had died down and he choose a room. He saw the cocky boy choose one, and he thought, why not be neighbours? He would probably be cocky enough to have his own privacy, so he _could_ respect others. Loukas sighed. He was hoping for a lot.

He entered the room, saw it was grey - like his morals - probably freshly painted. He was going to enjoy having a room _this big_ all to himself. For the first time in a few hours, Loukas smiled, his own big room. For him to furnish, decorate, and keep his peace in. He looked down, wooded floor boards lay in his wake. These probably had good sturdy re-enforcements but he could get a small hole to hide personal belongings in. finally, ability to be himself.

Hester's room back home was filled with books, the walls covered in posters and photographs, a small pile of teddies in the corner, a snow globe that had been a Christmas present from her dad on her bedside table. It was filled with memories, everything that made up who she was. It was her life, all thrown into one room.

When she left home she's taken only a rucksack with a change of clothes, some money, and her passport, and left everything else behind.

This new room, next door to Tanzani's, was utterly bare, empty, and she was meant to make it her home. She sat down on her bed and held her bag on her lap, hugging it tightly, and trying not to cry.

It wasn't that she was soft, or easily upset, but once she started crying she usually couldn't stop for hours. Hester hated it, hated how embarrassing it was, how weak it made her look.

It was just all too much, leaving home like that, with her mum shouting and screaming and Hester saying things she really shouldn't have. She'd gotten on a train, then a ferry, and arrived in Ireland. Now she was living with a bunch of strangers, in a house that would _never _be home, and no matter how many times she checked her phone, she knew that she was never going to get a text from her mum.

Dainan stepped inside after most of them and looked around. He saw the smart mouth Halcyon race against Tanzani, the girl with blue hair for rooms. He walked up the stairs and checked the available rooms, and deciding on the one in the furthermost corner. Out of sight, peaceful he thought to himself. He shadow walked between his luggage and his new room and dropped his stuff on the floor. He had been getting a fair bit better at controlling his magic and could shadow walk a lot easier than he could a few weeks ago.

He stepped out of his room and checked the house out. His favourite coin unbeknownst to him had made its way into his hand and he was tossing it. He felt how warm it was and every little groove and scratch on it was familiar. Dainan remembers his brother putting it in his pocket before he boarded the plane. It was his lucky coin ever since he was little and he had been trusted with it. He hadn't seen his brother or his family for that matter in a long time, and the coin was more than just a trinket; it was a memory.

He walked past a bookshelf and did a double take as he saw one if his favourite novels sitting on a fairly empty shelf. He grabbed the Gordon Edgley masterpiece and found a chair to sit at and read. _Caterpillars_ wasn't the most critically acclaimed book he had published but it resonated with Dainan on a spiritual level. What could be better than man-eating caterpillars?

Essa was sat on one of the sofas in the nest, admiring how comfy it was. She had been waiting for the arrival of the teenagers for quite some time – she was supposed to introduce herself as a trainer and talk about how she would lend a hand if help was needed. However, she failed to realise that as soon as she heard screeching, she became nervous and had turned herself invisible. It was a bad habit she had gained – but nevertheless she would become normal again in a few minutes.

The trainer had quickly done a headcount of the teenagers; seven of them – four boys, three girls. They seemed like an interesting bunch, to say the least.

Essa sighed, scared to introduce herself to them – scared they'd find her ridiculous and not the least bit respectable. Clearing her throat, she took the megaphone she had brought along - as she didn't want to wear her voice out from shouting - and switched it on. She held it up to her lips and said in her most welcoming voice, "Hello everyone, I hope you've settled in well. I'm Essa, and I'll be your trainer from here on out! I'd like to formally welcome you to your new home!"


	3. A Look Into Loukas' Younger Years

A look into the Younger Years

Loukas

_After nearly fifteen years of emotional, mental and sometime physical abuse, Simon finally had enough. He had chosen this night, one night where he could end the abuse. He left all of his belongings, except one stuffed toy of a husky, at his house. He took only this because it reminded him of a better time, a time where he wasn't hated by his friends and family. The family he had so long ago, seemed too far away to be a memory, maybe something imagined to convince himself that things weren't always bad._

_He felt like he was going faster than anyone he had ever seen, but in reality it seemed like a slow run to anyone watching him. He ran past a park, echoes of laughter that seemed so surreal. Then his old primary school where, he soon realised later in life, his friends and teacher faked all the support and friendliness they had given him. All of his life, Simon reflected, had been one big lie. All of the false support given by not only adults but even _children.

_Breathing in buckets of air at a time, he ran into a forest. It definitely wasn't big, but if anyone who looked remotely suspicious came after him he could swiftly avoid them through the shrubbery and foliage. Deciding heights would be a safe place to be safe, he climbed and easy, ladder branched tree that he could very easily get down from._

_Suddenly it hit him; he was in the middle of a wooded area at night, away from his family, safety and security all behind him. He couldn't help himself, tear welled up in his eyes, but eventually became too much and began pouring out. To him, it seemed like enough water was coming from this that he could water nearly an orchid. Obviously this was an exaggeration but the metaphor stuck with him._

_Something popped within his mind, a feeling he had never experienced before, like he had suddenly become whole. And in an instant, he felt an echo of what seemed like a higher force calling upon him._

"_You have seen despair like no person your age should." A voice, very similar to his own said. One thing stuck out about what it said. It had called him 'person' not 'child' or 'kid'... Person. Equal. Simon looked around, trying to find the voice as it talked, it seemed so, so close. So near to his the source of the voice could have been sitting right next to him. "There is no need to fear any more. You have suffered long enough and it is time for them all to pay for what they have done to you. Simon, you have not discovered this but you have such capabilities in you which you have not discovered, I am here to help. I am you."_

_Suddenly it seems so clear, the voice talking to him was inside himself, and with that one short sentence Simon had learnt his power, and he had discovered what he had longed for far too long. "Simon. Let me take over, let me give to your family what they gave to you for ten _years_." And he let the voice - himself - takeover._

_The voice had taken over his mind, controlling him, walking calmly even though Simon had taken a back seat in his own head. The voice retraced Simon's fleeing, panicked steps. Back past the primary school, the laughed and false resolve built up felt stronger than ever, even as he did not have control. Past the park Simon swore, out of the corner of his eye he saw the memory of the past re-enacted through flickering ghosts. None of this mattered however, he, and the voice, had their mind set on their final destination. The source._

_He watched as his own hand wavered in front of the lock, eventually resulting in a gentle click that would lead him one step further on his path. The door opened, leading to a through a hallway, into the living room._

_Simon was no longer in control, his mind was weeping, but his body showed no signs of weakness as he turned the corner of the hallway into the room, and saw his family. As he looked, he saw their minds, pulsing with so much energy, all of it visible to him, but never to anyone else. His father looked over to him from his newspaper._

"_What do you want." Blunt. Always so blunt. Obviously they hadn't noticed that he was missing, they probably wouldn't have noticed until the morning, when his mother gave him a blunt awakening._

_The voice that was in charge of his body reached out with his mind, Simon felt how it worked, all of that power, it felt far too good to be normal. Simon's father froze. Body not moving and newspaper crumpled between clenched fists._

_Next his mother, not even noticing that he had entered the room. She was on her laptop, playing some Facebook game that had no consequence on anything what so ever, but seemed to fuel her entire being. Once again, the voice used Simon's mind to reach out. He could feel the power of the laptop as the nonexistent, mental, hand reached for the computer and stole its energy. His mother instantly looked over to them. Obviously, you would beat a person if you had a punching bag._

"_Oi." She stated without any subtlety. "Get over here, and fix this fat bag." Wow. That was a hit below the belt. She still looked angry and expectant, but the voice reached out with their mind and she froze. Just like the father did. Then, Simon's sister._

_The sister looked at the mother, the father then looked at him. The voice could feel the confidence, and confusion, as she walked over to them. Such a bad person, to cocky for her own good, but who cared? She could do whatever she wanted to him and she would _always_ get away with it._

"_You, faggot." Start of mean and only get meaner. "What do you think you're doing? You standing there makes you look like a complete idiot, but you do that anyway, so what's the difference?" Her sister raised her hand but suddenly froze, brain pulsing, like it was being squeezed, all of the blood desperately trying to push its way through to its pre-destined target._

_They had the control now, stopping them, moving them, anything he wanted. Oh, how the voice was enjoying this. He commanded the minds as one, forcing them to do the same thing. Move, in a line in front of him. The voice made their arms glued to their side and their eyes, oh they were watering, overflowing and nearly drowning the rest of their face with tears of fear now. The voice contorted Simon's face into being something past a sane person's smile. Fear was overpowering the sadness in Simon's body, making him try to escape, regain control..._

_It was no use, no matter how hard Simon pushed and attempted to force his way back into some position of power in his own body. Futile. He could only watch in horror as one by one, they sank to the floor, screams strangled out by their own sound of torture, slowly filling them. Simon watched how it happened too. Attacking certain parts of the brain, squeezing and prodding. So simple, but so effective._

"_Mother," Simon's voice said, but it wasn't him anymore. "You were always an emotional cut off, draining me of the ability to be able to learn and grow my own feeling. Just use him, to fix or retrieve. What a nice mother you have been." And with that, she dropped to her knees, head down, limbs limp._

_Simon fought the voice more and more. "Father... How nice of you to actually put down whatever you are doing to pay attention for once. This is perfect isn't it? Finally, you are listening to me when I talk." And with that, he copied the position of Simon's mother._

_He fought, mental fists banging against a wall put up in his mind, blocking him from regaining control, and stopping the.. This torture. "Sister, sister." Simon could hear the sneer, vanity and cockiness in The Voice's words. "All those times, I thought I could share my problems with you, it turned out you where the source. Why didn't I notice you were abusing me? Words and fists hurt an equal amount; just that one leaves a scar!" The Voice clenched Simon's fists and his sister's eyes bulged, mouth gaped open and her body flopped... It just fell. Simon could see that she was not dead, but the pain was immense..._

_Simon used all of strength, plucked up the inner anger, fear, anything he could use to power this final attempt at freedom, and he hit the mental wall with his own energy._

_Simon looked down on his family, and felt something they knew all too well. Pity, he pitied their actions, pitied their history, and he pitied what could have happened if had not decided, on this final night with his family, to exit through a window._

"_I'm ashamed of all of you, the things you have done over the years - over the course of my life... Don't expect to hear from me again." And with those final words he left. Simon was left behind, with all of the horrible memories and tear filled nights. Simon was in the house, and out walked another person. _

_Past the park... _A new person._ Past the school... _A new Mage._ Into the forest... And, there this person sat. In the dark woods, bravery born into him, fear and sadness no longer his lifeblood. Loukas Nemain sat._

"_Ruhani" The Voice seemed distant now. "The third and final name of yours... Ruhani..."_


	4. A New Day

Chapter 3

A New Day

Unlike other people, Essa absolutely loved mornings. The sky looked beautiful with soft hues of sandy yellow fading into the horizon whilst a huge splash of peace and quiet came rarely for her, mostly because she worked non-stop in the Sanctuary. Although it was hectic, and she did love the background noise and the snatches of conversation here and there – it was refreshing to have some peace and quiet.

It was a shame she would have to ruin the atmosphere though.

Turning invisible, she sneaked into the kitchen and started to rifle through the various cupboards. Damn, where were the items she needed? Hearing a clunk which was her hand hitting metal, she grinned to herself. Perfect. She gently tugged on the handle, appreciating the sudden heaviness that pulled on her wrist. She swung the object around, testing its air resistance. It would do nicely for her task, she thought.

Next, she sauntered over to where the cutlery was, excitement filling her up. She'd never done something like this, and she couldn't wait to see the outcome. Grabbing the handle of the drawer, she pulled it open revealing various forks, spoons and knives. Essa's pale fingers stroked the blade of a large kitchen knife. She had always liked the feeling of metal.

However, choosing which knife to do the job? This was a very difficult choice. Essa held up a large butcher's knife, the blade glinting in the early morning light. This was the one. Grabbing the frying pan and the knife, she gently walked back to the hallway, beginning to feel nervous rather than excited.

What if she messed up, and what if she couldn't complete the task? She inhaled a deep breath.

Ravel had sent her the orders. Now she had to follow them, whether she'd like to or not. Essa nodded to herself, certain but nervous. Everything was set up as it should be. Everything was according to plan. Now, it was time to put the plan into action.

She walked to the second door that was on the left side of the hallway. Slowly, she gripped the handle in her left hand and lifted the pan up into the air. She clutched the knife in her right. Then, with all her strength she swung the pan down onto the wooden door, repeatedly.

"WAKE UP EVERYONE! IT'S TIME TO START YOUR TRAINING, HURRAY!" Essa sprinted down the hallway, banging the ban on each and every door until she stopped in the middle of the hallway and hit the pan with the end of the knife. Hearing the horrified groans and protests from the kids was like music to her ears. Waking up teenagers was fun, she decided.

"Seriously?!" Halcyon whined, burying his face into the pillow, "It's a Friday! Friday is my day!"

Eventually after a lot of angry mumbles he sat up, rubbing his eyes he hoped with anger. He wanted everyone to know how peeved he was. He was peeved. Very peeved. Peeved would be the main word to describe him at the moment. He nodded. Peeved.

"Wait." He stopped and suddenly grinned, ducking back under the covers. After a moment a fully dressed, fully awake Halcyon Ruse jumped out of the bed, stretched and jogged out of the room.

With a laugh of pure delight the real Hal curled back up back into bed, already half asleep.

Hester muttered something incoherent and rubbed her eyes in an effort to force them open. God, she was tired. She didn't do so well at sleeping in unfamiliar beds, and it must have been nearly three in the morning before she finally fell asleep.

She supposed it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for five more minutes, and then get up. After all, she really was very warm lying there, tucked up under her duvet in a pair of pyjamas she'd found in a draw the previous evening. Thank goodness for that, she hadn't had time to bring any with her and would have been sleeping in her jeans, which wouldn't have been comfortable. Not to mention the fact that she'd been wearing those jeans for nearly three days straight.

Hester heard someone walked past her door and sat up slowly, running her fingers through her tangled hair and rummaging around for the hoodie she'd abandoned on the floor, pulling it over her head and stumbling out of her room.

Loukas groaned to the sound of metal banging against the floorboards. Why now? It was so early in the morning and they had just moved in. He heard a woman shouting something about training and sighed. He had to do this, today… right now? Loukas didn't like mornings, especially when he only got an hours sleep due to fear of new places (and the fact that he had to get used to the new bed). So he got up. Angrily. He _usually _got up angry and today was no exception.

Loukas went to the drawers where he found some pyjamas to wear and looked through them for some suitable clothing to wear while doing something... physical. He recoiled to the mere thought of having to punch things. Loukas was much more of an emotional manipulation type of guy, long distance where the people didn't punch you back. But after finding something fitting for this type of activity, he put them on and stomped away, unlocking his door and continuing down the hallway.

Tanzani watched everyone file out of their rooms from the living room, rubbing her tired eyes. She had made a point of getting her outfit out the night before, like she did at home, so mornings didn't require too brain work over appearance. It meant getting up merely required getting out of bed and putting on clothes. She really wasn't a morning person, though despite her tiredness, she was looking forward to the day immensely. She had wanted to be trained how to fight since the day she began practicing her electromancy, and now, today was the day this wish was to become true.

Her thoughts were interrupted, once again, by the very loud clattering and shouting doing down the hallways. "Hey!" She growled, looking at Essa, who they had met briefly the day before, "You've made your point. Can you shut it already?"

Yeah, she decided. She really wasn't a morning person.

Rudely awoken by a good looking boy pouring over him with a dismayed expression, Halcyon 'hmphed' and raised an eyebrow, "Yes?" He said to the reflection.

"Hal, they said to wake you up, they know I'm not me… you. They know I'm not you."

"Well," He sighed and sat up, running his hands through his hair, "You can't replicate perfection now, can you?"

"No sir," The reflection nodded and stepped back into his source.

Halcyon looked around the room and pouted; the place needed a touch up: A paint job, new curtains, new cupboards, but most importantly, a new double bed. "I'll have to ask someone about that," He thought aloud.

Once he'd brushed his hair into form, pulled on clothes and brushed his teeth, he huffed and trudged down the hallway, probably late by now.

-x-

"Essentially my magic comes from a whole lot of narcissism," Hal grinned at the confused looking trainer, "Honestly, I don't even know how it works _myself_."

The woman –In all honesty Hal had completely forgotten her name, he had taken to calling her 'Miss' - sighed, exasperated. "Okay, so, if I did my research right the use of your magic physically drains you, right?" Hal nodded in response, "Maybe if we work on your physical endurance we can improve your magic." She grinned, somehow maintaining being professional.

"Yes… Miss!" Halcyon grinned and threw his top to the floor. He decided that if he was going to do a cool training montage he would have to take off his shirt. That's how it always worked. Rocky, Rambo… other films. The list was endless. Maybe…

His trainer coughed awkwardly and unclipped her notepad, humming as she scribbled down a couple of notes, "Physical exercise. That means boxing, Mr. Ruse."

Immediately Hal's shoulders dropped, he hated boxing.

This was easier in the movies.

"This should be fun to watch," Tanzani called to him from across the room, grinning. She was sitting down on one of the training mats, her legs crossed and electricity sparkling between her hands. "You ever boxed before?"

"I've been punched in the face before, if that counts…" Hal replied meekly as the trainer strapped the gloves to his hands. They were tighter than he'd expected, this was already going awfully.

As the trainer strapped her gloves on, the muscles in her arms clearly visible from this distance, Hal chewed his lip hoping for a divine miracle. Tanzani, on the other hand, was looking at them with interest, with a look of awe on her face.

"This'll be like watching pre-serum Captain America with post-serum." She commented from her place on her mat, grinning. The trainer glanced back at her, not appreciating the reference, and then stepped back from Halcyon.

"Boxing is going to be a helpful part of being an operative," she was saying, "because you can use it to both defend yourself and use it when necessary, such as on assignments." She nodded to him, and moved herself a little. "Put your left foot slightly in front of your right foot."

Hal raised his fists and groaned.

-x-

Dainan watched as Halcyon dramatically fought Halcyon, who was brawling Halcyon, while Halcyon commentated on the thrilling battle between themselves. And off in the far corner of the training room next to some punching bags and weights Dainan saw a huffing, Halcyon admiring his masterpiece.

Dainan sighed an easily heard sigh and marched into the crowd of Halcyon's. Each one turned their heads at the same time, and before they could speak he slipped on his gloves and stopped just before them. He jabbed at the air four times in quick succession, sending out speeding fists of shadows towards them. They struck all the Halcyons square in the jaw and sent them reeling.

"Are you even trying anymore dude?" Dainan walked over to the remaining conscious Halcyon and attempted to loom over him, trying to be as intimidating as he could be.

From the floor Halcyon groaned up at the boy, "Y'know… Your accent makes it hard for you to be scary…" He laughed and held a hand up, expecting to be pulled up.

When no offer came he got up with a glare. He brushed off his shirt, glancing at all the slumped copies of himself around the room. "That was cheating and you know it." He waved his hands and all of the bodies dissipated, and he straightened up a little, the glare keeping.

"We're supposed to be training, not rehearsing your 'Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest and Dumbass' broadway play. Do you actually know how to fight?" Dainan smirked was never usually this harsh but he felt he needed to step up if he wanted to get stronger. And having a one man fandom wasn't helping.

"Get up, we're sparring." He turned and walked into the centre of the training mat, waiting for Halcyon to focus.

"W-wait… I wasn't serious…" Halcyon hesitated, stepping back, his hands raised. "I'm not gonna _fight_ you, dude."

He tried a weak laugh that died quickly in his lips when he realized the boy was serious.

Dainan gave a mockingly endearing smile and raised his arms. "If you're not gonna fight me, then who are you going to be able to fight? We need to be prepared and sitting around ogling yourself isn't going improve how much of a fight you can put in. Let's see if your skill outweighs your personality."

He flexed his neck and spread his feet shoulder length apart, and exhaled. Slim tendrils rose from Dainan's body as he concentrated on the energy flowing to his gloves.

"I… I don't want to… Hurt you is what I'm saying." He laughed, unbuttoning his shirt and letting his shirt fall to the floor, revealing his '_#1 Sorcerer_' t-shirt he had bought himself the other day.

Halcyon raised his fists and glared, the frown faltering slightly when he realized that he was probably going to be killed here. "Powers or no?"

Dainan began to relax and let himself enjoy the following 'session'. "Give me all you've got; surely a squad of you can take little old me?' He laughed and mimed the taunt Bruce Lee did when he was about to give a beating.

He felt a strange sense of satisfaction being this confident for once; and the fact that he was about to square up against someone with such an amazing power gave him a guilty sense of pleasure in fighting this humorous, albeit cocky illusionist.

Halcyon smiled weakly and made a weak jab at his arm, grunting with effort.

When the Australian didn't react at all he smiled nervously, "J-just… Just joking." He then added for good measure, "Don't kill me… Please…?"

This was going as well as he had expected.

Dainan stared in disbelief for a few seconds before shaking it off. "Good, I'd be worried if that was a proper punch." Another few seconds passed of awkward shifting between stances until Dainan stopped and folded his arms. "Well? Are the rest of you too shy or are you gonna fight like a sorcerer?"

He sent a fast left hook with a slight pulse of darkness into Halcyon's jaw that wasn't too tough so that it broke his jaw but just strong enough so that when he fell the air escaped from his lungs making a funny sounding whistle.

With a whimper he fell into a pile, he lay there for a couple of minutes. Not moving. For once in his life, not even laughing. That hurt.

He tried saying 'Australians hit hard,' but he was pretty much sure he had broken his jaw, so instead he said, "Australiansh hi-uh-t harduh..."

Dainan kneeled and moved closer to the collapsed Halcyon. "Don't worry, I didn't break anything. It's just bruised. Probably." He grabbed Halcyon by his shoulders and hoisted him onto his feet.

"Right, now give me an attack formation. Let's see you put your party trick to use." He relished in this brief moment of cockiness but kept his head level. Just because he was doing well doesn't mean his opponent couldn't surprise him.

Halcyon whimpered and nodded weakly, raising his arms. "Can this one not involve punching?" As he said this a copy stepped out of him. This caused him to slump even more, his eyes hardly even open. He was pretty much sure he had died or something. Maybe dying. It certainly _felt_ like he was dying.

The Australian boy stared at the wheezing pair of Halcyons curiously. "So each copy drains you, sort of like a gist but not as… Scary." He walked beside the second Halcyon and waited for a little bit, before slightly nudging him and knocking them both over. "Up and at 'em, I'm not nearly as impressed as I should be."

He once again pulled them both up and stepped back. Dainan raised his hand slowly from his waist and his shadow stepped out from the ground and began copying Dainan's movements. "Mine's not as cool but it gets the job done. Now when you're ready attack the shadow; dazzle me."

"A-alright… Got it." Halcyon nodded, his legs shuddering under him. He pushed weakly at the shadow, and to his satisfaction it stumbled… Just a little. But this was a confidence boost for him and his reflection circled around Dainan, a grin appearing on its face.

He watched Halcyon shove the shadow and saw a satisfying grin appear on his face as he looked past Dainan. He clapped and lowered his hand sending the shadow back to his feet. "Very well done, I like your… Technique. Let's try it on a real person now. Take as much time as you need and have at it." Dainan waited for the inevitable sneak attack from the copy and looked directly at Halcyon.

Halcyon gave a quick glance at the projection behind Dainan and gave the briefest of nods. The projection nodded back and they both dived at him at the same time, giving a - what they thought was - valiant battle cry.

Dainan allowed the copy to latch onto is back and grabbed his forearm, slowly lowering him to the ground from behind him. The limp clone slid to the ground intercepting Halcyon and making them fall together. He looked at them both and laughed a sincere laugh. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and he was sure if Halcyon were more energetic than he was now, which wasn't, he would have had just as much fun, hopefully.

Laying on his back, Halcyon glared up at Dainan, "That was cheating." He rubbed his nose with a huff.

"Actually, I have a plan." He stood up and took his shirt off, hoping the mere sight of his Adonis figure would intimidate his opponent. He nodded slowly, a grin on his face.

"Now you should be worried." He explained.

Dainan looked his opponent up and down. He looked strong from what he could see. Even though there was an air of paranoia about him he was getting into it now, he could see it in his eyes, and Dainan smiled.

"Right then Calvin Klein, fire away." He noticed he was being a little cock sure of himself. Maybe there was a good and bad to Halcyon. The good was that he brought a sense of fun with him wherever he went, the bad is that being in love with himself took most of his time and effort. At the moment the bad was too evident, and a chance to knock some sense into him was too good to miss.

The young illusionist cheeky grin widened and he circled Dainan, a smile in his voice, "Remember I said I didn't want to hurt you? Y'know, I think I do now…" he then straightened up and shrugged, "Shouldn't be too hard."

Halcyon took a step forward and swung his fist towards Dainan's head, putting his whole body into it.

Dainan staggered as Halcyon drove his fist into the side of his head. He focused on staying upright and stood still so he wouldn't tip over. He heard a ringing and Halcyon became slightly angled.  
>He kept trying to align his head so that Halcyon would become straight again which made him like he was being tickled in the neck. He shook his head and stared at Halcyon with a wide grin.<p>

"You… Pack a mean punch… Which is surprising seeing as it looks tough enough to hold those arms up on your own." He stretched and cracked his knuckles together, creating black transparent boxing gloves. "This is gonna be fun."

Surprised that the punch actually connected, and apparently jarred him - he looked like a demented emu - Halcyon laughed and dived for him, all caution and hesitancy gone from him as he went to ram his shoulder into the Australian's gut.

As Halcyon dove Dainan felt the wind rush from his body as he was tackled. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around Halcyon's chest and resisted falling over. It was a struggle for power, both pushing as hard as each other and neither going anywhere. Dainan sent two tendrils of shadow along Halcyon's body that compressed and allowed Dainan to slam him to the ground and pin the Brit down. He heard a satisfying wheeze and pushed down.

Halcyon was not as pleased at this situation as Dainan was, his face was smushed against the ground and his arm was trapped behind his back. Not the best look. He really hoped none of the girls could see him in his position.

"Alright..." He whispered to himself.

Suddenly from his back sat up a projection that shot it's forehead into the other boys' head then reeled back into Halcyon who was now lying on his back. "Nice try." he laughed, and pressed his feet to Dainan's chest and pushed, not enough to knock him back but enough to give Halcyon room.

Dainan tried pushing against Halcyon's legs but no ground was made. He closed his eyes and let himself be pushed back only to appear on the other side of Halcyon in a shimmer of black. He continued falling backwards but dropped his elbow down on Halcyon's chest.

When Halcyon's feet felt nothing but air he yelped and smacked his back awkwardly onto the floor, completely disoriented. With not enough time to react Halcyon was forced to let the elbow crack into his chest. He cried out in pain and wheezed breath hard to catch.

He rolled around on the floor, breathing weakly. He held his hands up, "T-truce… Please…" He collapsed back onto his back adding, "C-call it a draw mayb-" the sentence ended with a weak coughing fit as he struggled to catch his breath.

Dainan stood, stretching out so his lungs didn't feel like they were burning. He looked down at Halcyon who sounded like a balloon being opened up whenever he breathed in. He contemplated leaving him there but a quick reality check snapped him back to his normal personality and he grabbed Halcyon's hand and helped him up. "I wouldn't call it a truce, but you can definitely tell them it was." He grinned and walked out, only looking back to see Halcyon confidently strolling over to Tanzani as if she wasn't there watching the entire time. Although he noticed a small limp in the boy's step, none of his cocksureness was missing.

Tanzani leant against the doorframe, a very amused expression on her face. She raised a cheeky eyebrow when she saw Halcyon waltzing over. "Brave, bravo. Such a fight. Very wow." She smirked, not at all mentioning, nor complaining, that Halcyon was topless. Or the fact that he looked like a startled fish; wheezing, covered in sweat and battered.

Halcyon approached the girl, grinning ear from ear. "I don't know if you saw that… You probably didn't, it ended pretty fast… But I just kicked Dainan's ass." He leaned on the doorframe and examined his nails. It would have been a good act if he wasn't wheezing for breath with every word. Regardless, he flashed her a grin, raising his eyebrow almost expecting her to swoon any second.

She shook her head. "Battalions will go running from you. They really will. They'd be so scared of your 6 year old girl screams." She noted, not bothering to tell them she had been watching their little duel the entire time.

Halcyon smiled, raising an eyebrow, "Those '6 year old girl screams' are battle cries. I mean, I won didn't I?" He flashed her a quick grin, chewing his lip.

She turned from Halcyon to grin at Dainan. "You know, if you wanna go a few rounds with me without a top on, then I am _fine_ with that, yo." She said, raising her hands with a look of smug on her face.

Hal glanced back at Dainan, secretly hoping the boy didn't hear and kick his ass again. "Yeah, she could easily take you on." Halcyon smirked, hoping to embarrass the boy before she complimented him any more.

Dainan laughed and walked over to Halcyon and Tanzani, unsure of how to respond to her… statement, he focused on Halcyon. "I'm not sure if one of your copies was watching another fight or something but just before, in this gym, I wasn't the one on the floor trying to keep my lungs from popping out of my mouth." Dainan only just noticed Tanzani looking at him and he became slightly flustered; although he kept calm and changed out of his sweaty shirt into a new one.

She gestured to Dainan. "I could take him on _no _problem, man. He wouldn't know what hit him." She said, smirking whilst watching Dainan also swiftly change his top. She couldn't help but enjoy that she was making him a little uncomfortable - the best thing about being fourteen years old is that no one takes her flirting seriously; it was a fun pastime.

"Now," She said, continuing, "That you two have established dominance or whatever the hell you were doing, are we still up for Doctor Who?" She asked, holding up the disc set that she had been holding.

"I'm all up for that!" Halcyon grinned, then nodded to Dainan, "As long as he admits I won. And you agree with him." He turned and started walking back to the middle of the room to grab his stuff, when he looked back they were both gone. He groaned and grabbed his stuff, jogging out of the room, stepping back in to turn the lightswitch off, sending the gym into darkness. He glanced back in, and looked around, smiling fondly before turning away and jogging down the corridor. "C'mon guys! Wait up!"


End file.
